Lawmakers consider power shift in appointing Board of Ethics
Ulster County voters could be called on to decide whether to give county lawmakers significant power in shaping the county’s Board of Ethics.
The Ulster County Legislature was scheduled to vote Tuesday on a local law putting a proposal that shifts the majority of appointments to the fivemember Board of Ethics from the county executive to county lawmakers.
As proposed, the Legislature chairman, majority leader and minority leader would each be given the authority to appoint one member to the board. Those appointments would be subject to confirmation by the full Legislature.
The county executive would be given the authority to appoint two members to the board.
Currently, under New
York state General Municipal Law, the county executive appoints all five members to the board, but the county Legislature must confirm those appointments.
Ulster County Deputy Executive Ken Crannell said if the law is passed by the Legislature and approved by voters, Ulster County would become only the second county in the state to deviate from requirements under state law that call for the appointments to be made by the county executive. Suffolk County on Long Island is currently the only other county in the state to not follow the state’s General Municipal Law, he said.
Tom Kadgen, a member of the Ulster County Chapter of the League of Women Voters, vowed Monday that the organization would speak out against the change, and said if the law is passed, the group will lobby County Executive Michael Hein to veto it. Failing that, the group
will campaign against it in November, Kadgen said.
Legislator David Donaldson, D-Kingston, who cosponsored the measure with Legislator Joseph Maloney, D-Saugerties, said the change would give people more confidence in the Ethics Board, arguing that some county employees and elected officials have expressed concerns about whether they could get a fair shake in front of the county’s board.
Legislature Chairman Ken Ronk, R-Wallkill, said the change would provide “more points of view” on the Board of Ethics.
Opponents, however, questioned the motivation of the sponsors of the measure and said the change puts the county in violation of state law.
If the proposal is approved by the Legislature on Tuesday, the Hein administration will hold a public hearing on it before deciding to either veto the measure or let it go to voters for a final decision.